Urgent Care vs ER: Skin Infections

Urgent Care vs ER: Skin Infections

Skin infections come in different shapes and sizes and can be broadly be classified as either bacterial, fungal or viral. At one time or the other, everyone has experienced a form of skin infection especially given that the skin is the part of the body that is exposed to the external surroundings which are full of the organisms that have been mentioned earlier. Skin infections can manifest themselves in a number of ways and can also be due to a number of causes from inflammation and infection of a cut or bruise on the skin to an ingrown hair among many other causes. While mild skin infections are easy to deal with especially by use of over-the-counter mediation, there are severe skin infections that may require immediate medical care. These more severe skin infections can be extremely uncomfortable and if not attended to can lead to serious health complications. It is therefore important to identify such skin infections and thereafter know which among them can be dealt with at urgent care and which ones are too severer and as such only an ER will do. Luckily, this article will be of huge help in doing just that.

As a rule of thumb, it is recommended that cases of skin infections that are not extensive, and are localized to an area of not more than 4 inches be treated at urgent care. These cases of skin infections are relatively easy to treat as they only require antibiotics to clear and as such a visit to urgent care will suffice. This is because these cases of skin infections won’t require blood work for diagnosis. It is also advised by the subject matter experts over at frontlineer.com, which is also the best place to visit for all your sin infection issues as well as other medical problems, that if you are to visit an urgent care for skin infections, make sure that the infection isn’t accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, chills among others that may indicated severe skin infections. Other time, a skin infection can be a symptom of food poisoning and as such if you have symptoms of food poisoning as well as a skin infection, then this is the sort of thing that can be handled at urgent care. Bottom line is, if the infection is not severe and won’t require blood work or cultures to be diagnosed, then heading over to an urgent care will do.

For the more severe cases of skin infections, it is important to head over to an ER for treatment, with frontlineer.com being the best place to visit for such cases and much more. Some of the skin infection symptoms to be on the lookout for include redness on the skin, rashes, swelling and a feeling of warmth of the skin, sores, skin discoloration like a bluish color, discharge from the infected area mostly yellowish or greenish in color as well as blistering and acne. If the infection spread beyond the skin, then you will start to exhibit additional signs such as fever, nausea and even vomiting and this is a very serious sign, one that means you should head over to an ER immediately. Also, if you have an abscess on the skin, it may get better after it drains and as such you don’t have to head over to an ER. However, if you start seeing read streaks expanding from the area of the abscess, then that is a sign that the skin infection is spreading and as such you should get over to an ER to be treated as soon as possible, failure to do so may lead to one developing sepsis which is life threatening.

Other serious cases of skin infections include staph infections, which can be life threatening if they make their way into the bones, lungs, joints, heart or the bloodstream. They are thus important to be treated in the ER as soon as possible before they spread into the said parts of the body. Skin infections in people with compromised immune systems should also be taken seriously such as people undergoing chemotherapy, those who have recently had surgery, those with diabetes, HIV/AIDS among others. If you also have a skin infection where if you press on the infected area you get a crunchy feeling and it feels like there is air under the skin, then this is a symptom of necrotizing fasciitis and one should head over to an ER as soon as possible. Be on the lookout also for pus filled unexpected blisters and boils. An ER is recommended for severe cases of skin infection, rather than an urgent room since in an ER they have facilities to carry out skin cell cultures for diagnosis of the infection as well as facilities for administering IV antibiotics as well as admission if necessary.

From the foregoing, it is clear which cases require one to head to an urgent care and the ones requiring one to visit an ER as far as skin infections go with frontlineer.com being the best place to visit for this and other medical issues.

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